CEO of LiveScore Group - converging the global sports media and betting industries | EGR Power 50
I am tired of making this point but have to bring it up again. How long until football rightsholders realise that the only way to maximise their IP is to make it available on free to air distribution? FTA would instantly kill any kind of piracy and make a product like EPL in UK reach millions more every weekend, exponentially increasing the value of the entire commercial ecosystem, from sponsorships to ad revenues. And it's not like there isn't proof that this works, just look at the NFL. Sure you'll need to allow innovative forms of monetization and advertising during the matches to maximise this but the alternative is continued decline in viewers and the fanbase. https://on.ft.com/4io3kAm Number of UK consumers streaming sports illegally has gone ‘through the roof’, police say
Martim Roll
3mo
100% agree Instead they just charge more and more each season. Look at CazéTV in Brazil for a great example
David McKenzie
3mo
Sam couldn’t agree more, although I would say I think people would be prepared to pay a reasonable price that’s value for money.
Whilst I dream of the day that this would happen.. What “continued decline in viewers and fanbase”? The league is bigger Internationally than it has ever been, and stadiums are running at 98.5% attendance rates. The unfortunate truth is that the current model IS working for global appeal / growth, it just also hurts the pocket of the UK working class fan.
Mark Wolverson
3mo
Surely the EPL has enough money to set up it's own reasonably priced subscription model. We certainly don't need in game adverts during football. The NFL kind of gets away with it due to the amount of breaks in between play.
Gary Rathbone
3mo
Wow...glad to hear someone else singing from the same song sheet as me. But everything will change with the big players either a) selling their global rights to one of the major global streamers or b) deliver a global app-based D2C subscription service that will exceptionally cheap compared to the current options. Yes I know all the old arguments against this happening but the fact is, technology changes everything and if you still think the way things were is how the way things will be, then it's time for you to think again.
Lombo Mphande
3mo
Agreed Sam Sadi. There's a fear of change that dominates that space. Shareholders and boards questioning whether free to air could ever match the current revenues imposed through the bureaucracy. Alot of older heads in leadership that are scared of backing their teams to be able to reach profitability in the open streaming market. It will soon be a case of "learn or perish."
Dan Crossen
3mo
Sam Sadi as an old teacher of mine used to say, the thing about common sense is that it isn't very common!
Managing Director at NUEL
3moThey could start by removing the ludicrous 3pm Saturday blackout which I imagine drives a decent amount of the piracy right now - ie people willing to pay to watch their team but literally not being allowed to buy the content, even though its available in other markets. It’s an archaic rule that never seems to get the stick it deserves.